Join the club! Travel Photography Club opens for members
Professional travel photographer, OM-System Ambassador and Photographer of the Year judge Lisa Michele Burns has launched a new membership club for aspiring travel photographers.
The Brisbane-based photographer, who is well-known for her travel photography resource The Wandering Lens, describes the Travel Photography Club as a way to bring together people who love to explore the world and capture it creatively.
"It's something that has long been requested, but it wasn’t until I met some members from my Nan's local photography club in Port Macquarie at her memorial I realised a club was the ideal way to build a community of like-minded people," she says.
Burns says the club is open to all shooters and offers tips and advice for creative travel photography, with a variety of resources available to members to help them improve their photography as well.
Her hope is the club will also help aspiring travel photographers overcome some of the hurdles of working in an industry she says has seen 'monumental' change in recent years.
"Today, a lot of people research their trips based on the images they’re seeing on social media. This in turn has led to more work for travel photographers in content creation and video," she believes.
However, while there’s more need for publications and tourism businesses to have imagery to keep up with the demand of consumers, there are also more photographers.
"It becomes important to know how to market yourself, and also to build connections and network," she adds.
Burns says she sees many photographers struggle with knowing their audience and having the confidence to pitch and pursue opportunities.
"Travel photography covers so many diverse fields and there are endless opportunities that exist if you’re pursuing it as a career," she says.
"But I always suggest building a strong portfolio and experience so you’re comfortable delivering high quality work for clients or publications once you feel ready."
Since its launch in November, the club has grown, and now has members from over 18 countries.
Along with a library of educational resources and downloadable ebooks, the club also gives access to travel itineraries for photographers, location lists, plus monthly resources with creative photography challenges, career prompts and editing tips.
As well as this, members also gain access to some of Burns' hard-learned advice for aspiring travel photographers.
"A lot of us have dreams of working for National Geographic or shooting for the big name brands, but just around the corner could be a lucrative opportunity to shoot an entire image library for a local tour operator," she says.
You can join the club with a special discount code for AP readers - just use AUSPHOTO20 for $20 off an annual membership.